summees



(No Model.)

0. R. & M. E. SUMMERS.

FENCE WIRE STRBTGHER.

No. 348,248. Patented Aug. 31, 1886..

WITNESSES & fiIlg'ENTOR mgw mwf ATTORNEYS.

ETERS Pmmum m m, Wnshinglun. D, c.

. UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLIFTON R. SUMMERS AND MARSHAL E. SUMMERS, OF STANBERRY, MO.

STRETCH ER.

SPECIPICATIQN forming part of Letters Patent No. 348,248, dated August31, 1886.

Application filed September 4, 18

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, CLIFTON R. SUMMERs andMARsHAL E. SUMMERs, both of Stanberry, in the county of Gentry and Stateof Missouri, have invented a new and Improved Fence-\Vire Stretcher, ofwhich the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Our invention relates to implements for stretching barbed or plain wiresor ribbons to fence-posts prior to fastening them to the posts, and hasfor its object to facilitate this opera tion by providing a simple,cheap, effective, and easily-handled device for the purpose.

The invention consists in certain novel features of construction andcombinations of parts of the fence-wire stretcher, all as hereinafterfully described and claimed.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in both the figures. Figure 1 is a perspective viewof our im; proved wire-stretcher as applied to use. Fig. 2 is asectional plan View thereof with the main lever partly broken away.

The letter A indicates the main plate of the wire-stretcher, which plateis made of metal, and at its rear face next the end to which the leversare attached the plate is provided with staples or eyes, as at b, towhich are connected by loops or eyes at their back ends the stems b ofthe dogs B, two in number, which are to be driven into one face of thefence-post U. A dog, D, connected by its stem d with the head ofscrew-bolt E, passing through a slot, a, of the main plate A, is to bedriven into the opposite face of the post to hold the stretcher to thepost, said bolt E having a nut, e, on it which may be tightened on theplate A to hold the dog D at any desired distance from thedogs B, toaccommodate the thickness of the post. At one end the plate A isprovided with lugs ff, between which, on a loose pin or key, f, a lever,F, is fulcrumed, the short arm or jaw F of which is adapted to clamp thefence-wire G between it and the base of the recess between the lugs ff,and at the outer face of the plate A. it is provided with oppositelugs,-h h, between which, on a pin, h, is pivoted the inner end of aleverarm, H.

85. Serial No.176,170. (No model.)

pivoted,on a pin, 1', the lever I, the short arm or jaw I of which isadapted to clamp the fence-wire G between it and the base j of therecess J,in which the jaw I works. The long arm or handle of the lever Fis bent upward and outward, so as to be out of the way of the lever Iwhen the latter is thrown forward to take a new hold of the wire.

At 0 is shown a brace, which stiffens the fence-post 0 against the pullof the wirestretcher.

The operation is as followsz Vhen the screw-bolt Eis adjusted in themain-plate slot a, so as to be at the proper distance from the eyes b,the dogs 13 D will be driven into the post to hold the entirewire-stretcher to it, and so that the wire G may, when the levers F Iand their pinsf dare removed, be passed between the lugsff of plate A,and into the recess J of the lever H. The levers F I then will befulcrumed respectively to the plate A and lever H again, and thecompound lever H I will be swung forward as closely as may be to theopen jaw F of lever F, and the le- Ver II Ithen will be drawn backwardby a pull on the main lever I, which first will close its jaw Ipowerfully on the wire G and then the whole lever H I will swing aroundon the pivot-pin h as the wire G is drawn up past the jaw F of lever F,and when the lever H I receives its full backward movement the lever Fwill be operated to clamp the wire G and hold it until the lever II Ican be loosened from the wire and swung forward toward the lever F andagain be clamped to the now partly stretched wire, whereupon the lever Fis loosened from the wire and the lever H I is again drawn backward, andthese alternate gripping and stretching operations will be performeduntil the wire is drawn up tightly and directly at the faces of theposts, to which it may then be fixed by staples or otherwise in anyapproved way. The faces of the levers and main plate A, between whichthe wire is gripped, are roughened or serrated to insure a firm hold ofthe wire.

It is evident that the stretcher may be fastened to a fence-post of anyshape, as it only is necessary to. flatten one face of the post for theplate A to rest against, which may very quickly be done with an aX.Furthermore,

In the forked outer end qf the lever H is the wire-strectcher is verysimple in construction, and may be made at low cost, and. is veryeffective in use.

Instead of the staples b, eyebolts swiveled (,0 the plate Amay be usedto connect the stems b of the dogs B to the plate, as will readily beunderstood.

It is obvious that the fence-wire, when stretched by our machine, isdrawn up tightly across the face of the post, and so held bythe lever B,which is in front of the stretchinglever H'I, and neither the main plateA nor the stretching-lever nor holding-lever is parallel with orpositioned at or across the face of thepost, to which the fence-wire isto be fastened; consequently the staples may be driven into the post tosecure the wire much more conveniently and easily than is possible whenwire-stretchers of other construction.

are employed.

We are aware that fence-wire stretchers have heretofore been providedwith a main plate having one end bent and pointed to form asecuring-prong, which, in connectionwith a pointed adjustable leverextending through a slot in the main plate, formed the attaching means.This main plate had a clamping-lever at its forward end, the spacebetween which lever and the main plate for the wire extending in thedirection of the length of the plate, and a stretching-lever was pivotedto the curved end of the main plate in rear of the v clamping-lever, sothat when the wire was .be cut into and the barbs be bent.

drawn taut by the stretching-lever the said wire was of necessityextended very closeand parallel to the main plate, which rendered theinsertion of the staples difficult, as the plate was in the way; and,furthermore, the stretching-lever being pivoted to the curved attachingend of the main plate, the wire would, when the lever was forcedoutward, bind against the corner edge of the fence-posts, and in casebarbed wire was used the post would We claim no such construction as ofour invention. In our construction the main plate has the clampingaperture or space at its forward end at right angles to the outer faceof the plate, and the stretching-lever is at the same end of the plate.The two dogs B are pivotally secured to the forward part of the plate onits rear or inner side, and are above and below the clamping-apertureand lever F, so that the wire being stretched does not extend along theface of the main plate A,but simply extends through the jaws f, whichform, in connection with the end of the plate, the clamping space oraperture; also, in the prior construction above referred to, the mainplate had ratchet-teeth and the pointed adj ustable lever had a pawl toengage said ratchet-teeth. In our construction the forward dogs arepivotally connected by the stems or rods 12 and eyes I) to the plate,and the rear dog is connected by the eyebolt E and the nut e, whichaffords a very effective and inexpensive means for adjusting said reardog.

Having thus fully described our invention, we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent 1. In awire-stretcher, the combination,with themain plate having securing devices on its rear face, of a clamping-leverpivoted to the forward end of said plate,with its inner end clampingagainst the forward outer edge thereof, the wire-receiving space betweenthe inner end of the lever and the end edge of the plate beingtransverse to the longitudinal plane of the plate, and astretching-leverpivoted to the outer face of'the plate at its forward end and at rightangles to the clamping-lever, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination,with the main plate A, havinglongitudinally-extending lugs ff .on its forward end, and lugs h on itsouter face near its. forward end, at right angles to the lugs ffof theclamping-lever. pivoted between t-he lu'gsf, the lever H, pivotedbetween lugs h h, and having its outer end forked and provided with aWire-receiving aperture, J, and the lever I, pivoted in the forked endof the lever H, and means on the rear or under face of the main platefor securing it to a post,

substantially as set forth.

3. A fence-wire stretcher consisting of the main plate A, having alongitudinal slot, a, lugsff 'on its front end, the clamping-lever F,pivoted between said lugs, a wire-clamping space being formed betweenthe end of said lever and the end of the main plate at right angles tothe face of said plate, the lugsh h on the outer face of the plate nearits forward end and at right angles to lugs ff, the compound lever H I,pivoted between said lugs h,

the forward dogs,- B 13, having stems secured to the rear face of theplate above and below the inner end of the clamp F, the eyebolt E,extending through the slot at, the nut e on the outer end of the saidbolt, and the dog D, having a stem connected to the eye of the saidbolt, the parts-being combined substantially as set forth.

CLIFTON R. SUMMERS.

MARSHAL E. SUMMERS. Witnesses:

ED E. ALESHIRE, E. T. HoUsroN.

ITO

